Eleven seasons after making his big league debut, David Peralta might best be described as a professional hitter. As clichéd (and definitionally daft) as that label is, it’s pretty much what the 37-year-old San Diego Padres outfielder is at this stage of his career. A reliable left-handed bat now with his fourth team — the bulk of his time has come with the Arizona Diamondbacks — Peralta is slashing .268/.327/.439 with six home runs and a 118 wRC+ in the current campaign. His career numbers are actually somewhat similar. Over 1,200 games and 4,492 plate appearances, the Valencia, Venezuela native has a .279/.334/.449 slash line to go with 123 home runs and a 109 wRC+.
Peralta talked hitting when the Padres visited Fenway Park earlier this season.
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David Laurila: How different a hitter are you now compared to when you reached the big leagues?
David Peralta: “I’m different now, because every year, every day, you learn something to get better, how to approach the game, how to approach pitching. That’s especially true now. When I first got called up, in 2014, you didn’t see that many guys throwing 99-100 mph. Now that’s normal. So, it’s a different approach that you have to have.”
Laurila: Have there been any notable changes over the years?
Peralta: “I’ve always been more simple and short, but I tried one time in my career to change my mechanics. It worked for a little bit and then stopped working.”
Laurila: This was when?
Peralta: “In 2022, in the offseason, I started doing something different with Michael Brantley. I started hitting the way he does. Again, it worked for a little bit, but then for some reason I came off of that and couldn’t find myself again. I ended up going back to my mechanics. You have to know what type of player you are, what type of hitter you are. I know that I’m not a home run hitter. I’m a line drive hitter, so I have to work on things that way.”
Laurila: Brantley hasn’t been a home run hitter either. What was he doing that you were trying to emulate?
Peralta: “It was more about the setup. Before, I had a leg kick that was costing me time to get my foot down. What I did with him was trying to do a toe-tap and get my foot down earlier the way he does, to [have] more time to recognize the pitch and drive the ball. Like I said, it was working really well. I remember in spring training having a bunch of homers without even trying. I was consistent with my path, but in the second half of the season for some reason it didn’t work. Then I ended up having surgery on my lower back.”
Laurila: What were you feeling mechanically that wasn’t allowing you to square up baseballs? Were you basically out of rhythm?
Peralta: “Yes. That was the whole problem. I lost the rhythm and then I couldn’t find it because I was dong something that was new. I decided, ‘OK, that’s not me’ and went back to what I had been doing my whole career.”
Laurila: Have your hands always started in the same position?
Peralta: “No. I started out a little higher in my career, then I lowered them a little bit. When I had my best year, in 2018 when I hit 30 home runs, I had my hands lower and was elevating the ball more. I didn’t try to hit 30 homers. It just happened.”
Laurila: Do you think the balls had anything to do with that? I’ve had a lot of pitchers tell me that they differ from year to year, and even within the same season.
Peralta: “I don’t know, but I do know that they keep changing the baseball. Right now, sometimes you hit the ball hard and it doesn’t go anywhere. Maybe that’s the ball — I don’t know — but I try not to do too much thinking about those things. I just work on myself.”
Laurila: You mentioned all of the velocity hitters have to deal with in today’s game. The breaking stuff is increasingly nasty as well. As a hitter, how do you go about countering that?
Peralta: “They are nastier. You see all of these guy coming with these cutters and sweepers. Everything. Countering that is the trick. It’s the hard part of baseball. You’ve got to make an adjustment. That’s what we work [on] every day, simplifying everything and having the right approach to get good results.
“As a hitter, you have to know what your strength is and what you’re looking for. You have to be disciplined to [say], ‘OK, this is what I want to swing at.’ It’s about swing decisions, and you have to be on time so that you can see the ball better. If you’re on time you’re going to make better decisions because you see the ball better.”
Laurila: Are there are players on this Padres team you feel you’re similar to? Not so much talent level, but rather in terms of approach or swing?
Peralta: “I think everyone is different. But like I always say, if you’re on time you’re going to make better decisions to hit the ball. That’s everyone’s thought. But everyone approaches it differently because everyone has different strengths. Some people like different balls or are looking for it in a different spot. Some guys like to pull the ball, like [Jurickson] Profar. He’s good at pulling the ball. [Luis] Arraez likes to put the ball in play everywhere.”
Laurila: Arraez obviously likes to let the ball get deep…
Peralta: “That’s because he trusts his hands and knows what he can do. He’s got the ability to hit the ball everywhere, but not every guy can do that. Some guys like to hit the ball more out front so they can drive it better. I like to let it travel. That way I can see the ball deeper and make better decisions.”
Laurila: What about the year you hit 30 home runs?
Peralta: “Same thing. Like I said, if you let it travel you can see the ball more and be more on time. The ball is going to go this way, so if you’re hitting it out front, the ball is still moving and you’re more likely to miss it. It’s just a small space that you have to let it travel so that I can hit the ball better. I’m short and quick with my path. I don’t have a long swing. I’m more handsy. That’s always how I’ve been.”
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Earlier “Talks Hitting” interviews can found through these links: Jo Adell, Jeff Albert, Greg Allen, Nolan Arenado, Aaron Bates, Jacob Berry, Alex Bregman, Bo Bichette, Justice Bigbie, Cavan Biggio, Charlie Blackmon, JJ Bleday, Bobby Bradley, Will Brennan, Jay Bruce, Triston Casas, Matt Chapman, Michael Chavis, Garrett Cooper, Gavin Cross, Jacob Cruz, Nelson Cruz, Paul DeJong, Josh Donaldson, Brendan Donovan, Donnie Ecker, Rick Eckstein, Drew Ferguson, Justin Foscue, Michael Fransoso, Ryan Fuller, Joey Gallo, Paul Goldschmidt, Devlin Granberg, Matt Hague, Andy Haines, Mitch Haniger, Robert Hassell III, Austin Hays, Nico Hoerner, Jackson Holliday, Spencer Horwitz, Rhys Hoskins, Eric Hosmer, Jacob Hurtubise, Tim Hyers, Connor Joe, Jace Jung, Josh Jung, Jimmy Kerr, Heston Kjerstad, Steven Kwan, Trevor Larnach, Doug Latta, Royce Lewis, Evan Longoria, Michael Lorenzen, Gavin Lux, Dave Magadan, Trey Mancini, Edgar Martinez, Don Mattingly, Marcelo Mayer, Hunter Mense, Owen Miller, Ryan Mountcastle, Cedric Mullins, Daniel Murphy, Lars Nootbaar, Logan O’Hoppe, Vinnie Pasquantino, Graham Pauley, Luke Raley, Julio Rodríguez, Brent Rooker, Drew Saylor, Nolan Schanuel, Marcus Semien, Giancarlo Stanton, Spencer Steer, Trevor Story, Fernando Tatis Jr., Spencer Torkelson, Mark Trumbo, Brice Turang, Justin Turner, Trea Turner, Josh VanMeter, Robert Van Scoyoc, Chris Valaika, Zac Veen, Alex Verdugo, Mark Vientos, Matt Vierling, Luke Voit, Anthony Volpe, Joey Votto, Christian Walker, Jared Walsh, Jordan Westburg, Jesse Winker, Bobby Witt Jr. Mike Yastrzemski, Nick Yorke, Kevin Youkilis.
